Machine for casting articles from plastic or liquid masses



March 31, 1931. .4. J. JENSEN 1,793,326

MACHINE FOR CASTING ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC OR LIQUID MASSES Filed Dec. 18, 1929 s Sheet-Sheet 1 mufllllllllilllllllllu March 31, 1931. J J JENSEN 1,798,326

MACHINE FOR CASTING: ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC OR LIQUID MASSES Filed Dec. 18, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 31, 1931. J. .J. JENSEN 1,798,326

MACHINE FOR CASTING ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC OR LIQUID MASSES Filed Dec. 1a, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet a Patented Mar. 31, 1931 UNITED" {STATES PATENT-i i .rE s Jona NEs JE S N, or COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, AssIGNoR JACOBSEN, OF COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 'ro BOGGILD &

MACHINE FOR CASTING ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC OR LIQUID MASSES Application filed December 18, 1929, Serial No.

It is commonly known thatv casting machines for casting articles on to a movable mould-carrying; belt are adapted to cast such articles in different lengths, different quantities, and in different number of transverse 'rows, although the same length of time is used for each pouring, but the-known casting machines are as a rule fitted with a swinging feeding hopper adapted to move along a m continuously vmoving mould belt. v

Such machines, however, are all quite costly to manufacture and require a great number of adjustable parts.

' The present invention relates toa casting machine which enables the above mentioned variation in use, to. be accomplished in an essentially simpler manner, than with machines commonly used for such purposes. lln the present device, by using a stationary feeding hopper and a uniformly moving mould beltand other features which Will be herein described, accomplishes the variations in casting, by a variatiouin the time of pouring the poured material which in turn determines the length ofthe castingspoured, and the quantity of material poured at. each pouring. 1 The present machine offers the further advantage that byivarying-the pouring time the castings may also beadjusted and varied according to the number of moulds in each plate,-and'with due regard to the distance, between: the last mould in one mould plate of the moving conveyor,-and the first mould in theifollowing mould plate.

As a special feature of the present invention, a stationary feeding hopper may be used in combination with an intermittently moving mould-carrying belt, whereby at the 40 time of pouring, the mould being poured is temporarily held stationary; or said mould I i is moved at a speed. corresponding to the length of the casting being poured, and the time necessary to pour the same.

It is for instance important that the feeding hopper be a stationary one, because when small articles are being poured, a swinging feeding hopper, has to perform so many pouring operations per minute, that difi ficulties of a practical nature occur, and rapid 415,075, and in Denmark November 23, 1929.

oscillations of the hopper valves in combination with the great .weight of said hopper strains the moving parts of the machine to an extent which shortens the life of said machine. The use of a stationary feeding hopper also permits a finer adjustment of the quantity poured, and as a result a greater uniformity in the weight of castings poured is attained.

By having the entire mould-carrying belt moving at a. uniform speed itbecomes possible to dispense with many of the devices commonly required for enabling one portion of the mould belt to be held stationary, while pouring is being effected, as it isevidently e5 impracticable to stop the entire mould belt, which is often more than 800 feet long, whenever a pouring is made. I

The invention consists in part of a feeding hopper and an endless mould belt moved normally at a uniform speed. The feed-ing hopper is fitted Witha series of plungers and a valve, serving to regulate the supply of naterial to the pouring cylinders, and the discharge from the latter to the mould plates all in a heretofore. well known manner. The present invention relates to a cooperation of the above named members in such afmanner that the pouring period of the machine,,and the quantity poured can be varied. By variso ation of the pouring period, a corresponding variation of the length o frthe casting being poured is attained, since this length is a function of the pouring period, and by varying the length of stroke of the plungers, ofthe s5 pouring'cylinders of the machine, the quantity of material poured can be varied, viz., the quantity of material pressed out of the pouring cylinders in a given unit of time can be varied.

The invention is shown on the drawings, in which i Fig. 1 shows one side of the casting machine, in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows in side elevation, and at a larger scale, the suction position of thel moving mechanismof the plungers, and the valves forming part of the machine; Fig. 4 shows a similar side view, to that of Figure 3, with the corresponding parts in a pressure position;

Fig. 5 shows a similar view, to that shown in Fig. 1, but is of a somewhat modified type of construction of the device;

Fig. 6 shows in side elevation a combination of the stationary pouring hopper of the invention, with a mould-carrying belt, which is moved continuously, although the portion thereofsituated directly below the pouring hopper, has an intermittent motion.

In the drawings the numeral 1 is a pouring hopper disposed above a frame 2 support-.

. ing an endless mould belt 3. The mould belt is moved from a driving roll or sprocket wheel 4, and the mould belt is supposed to be continued towards the left on the drawing as seen in Figure 1, where it may pass through various auxiliar appliances not shown, but

often required y 'such' a casting machine. For instance said belt may pass through an oscillatin table, a cooling closet, or the like device. 11 the lower part of the pouring funnel 1 a bottom block 5 is attached, containing a series of pouring cylinders 6 and a series of valves 7." 'Ashaft 8 is mounted in the frame 2 of the machine, and is fitted with two sets of cam discs 12a, 12b, 12c and 13a,

13b, 1-3edriven from a driving shaft 11 by means of a gear-wheel transmission 9, 10, The said cam discs 12a, 13a etc., cooperate with rollers 14,18 which are'supported by arms 15, 19 etc which in their turn are connected directly to the valve 7 ,and to the plunger rods 27 of the cylinders 6. The cam discs 12a, 12b, 12a are in engagement with a roller 14 on an arm 15, from which a rod 16' extends to the crank 17 of the valve 7; and the cam discs 13a, 13b, 13c arein engage.- ment with another roller 18, on anarm 19, which is pivoted on a shaft 20. The arm 19' is alsoconnected to a slotted lever 21. The

slot 22 of arm 19 is fitted with an adjustable block 23, which last is engdgedfby the forked end of an arm 24, having its opposite end hinged to an arm 25. The arm 25 is 'rigidly mounted on a'shaft'45. The same shaft 1 supports another arm 26, which is connected to'a plunger rod 27, forming-part of a plunger 1n the cylinder 6. It should be mentioned that since as a rule a number of pouring cylinders 6 will be situated side by side transversely of the machine, it must be understood that the arm 26 is not hinged directly. to one of the plung'er'rods 27, but cooperates with a transversely disposed shaft 28, to which all the plunger rods are pivotally attached;

. It is seen that by the herein described mechanism the length of stroke, of the plungers 6O of the block 23 in the slot 22 of the arm 21,

and as the shaft 8 always rotates at a uniform canbe regulated and varied bydisplacement speed the quantity of material pour'edfrom the pouring cylinders can consequently be varied by adjustment of the hand wheel 46 which varies the position of block 23 in the slot 22. The variations in the motion of the valve 7 and of the pouring plungers 27, 27 are efi'ected by adjustment of the two groups of cam discs 12a, 12b, 12c and 13a, 13b, 13c with relation to the rollers 14 and 18. This variation is efiected by transverse axial displacement of the two groups of cam discs along the shaft 8. In order that such a displacement may take place the rollers 14 "and 18 must be adapted to be moved from the cam discs during the axial displacement of the latter and as shown by the drawings thls is effected by means of the levers 29 and 30, the upper ends of which cooperate with arms 31, 32 connected to the above mentioned arms 15 and 19, while the lower ends of the two arms 29 and 30 are connected to a' lever 33. By lifting the outer end of this lever 33, which is fitted with a handle 71, the rollers 14 and 18 can be moved from the cam discs,

while the latter by means of an adjusting wheel 34 Fig. 2 can be displaced in axlal direction, until the desired set of the various cam discs comes opposite the sald rollers.

,It will easily be understood that by using a greater or smaller number of cam discs 12a,

131), etc., on the shaft S'the number of pourings of material per mould plate, and the time for each pouring may be varied within very wide limits. In order'to equalize the difference existing between the distance between the individual inoulds on a mould.

plate, and the distance from the last mould on one mould plate, to the first mould on the following mould plate the cams of the cam discs may be situated at varying distances from one another as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.- These two figures show one single set of ad- 'g' acent corresponding cam discs arranged for two pourings of material into the moulds on each mould plate, and it will be seen in Fig.

3 that while the distance between the one cam 12", and the second cam 12 on the disc two sets of cam discs, fitted with two cams 1'2" and 12'- corresponding to two pourings of material or pourings of two moulds. For each mould plate, the set of cam discs will be fitted with another number of cams on each disc, or with c'ams of different radial length,

v e first cam may be corresondingto the length of the casting and quantity of material which is to be poured.

--As the adjustment from one set of cam "discs to another set can be effected in exceedingly short time, merely one or two seconds,

it will be practicable to use. different moulds with different spacings in'the mould belt 3. Theremaly for instance be two pourings per mould"plate,on onepart of the mould belt, and anothernumber of pourings in'another part (if the mould belt, themovingmechanism of the adjusting wheel 34 Fig. 2 being for instance arranged in such a manner that eachrevolution of the said wheel will displace the cam discs axially' inja transverse direction a distance equalling the thickness of onedisc."

It is of course not sufficient to beable to determine the quantity poured and the length of casting, but the moulds must also be ad juste-d in such a manner that the material poured will reach the proper point in the moulds onthe mould beltg For this reason a fine adjustment of .the mould belt 3 relatively tothe pouring orifices of the pouring cylinders 6, 6 is requlred, and this adjustment is efiected by means ofthe mechanism de scribed below. Inthe base 2 of the machine a carriage 35 movable in "the longitudinal direction of'the machine is provided. This carriage moves between guides (not shown),

and its displacement canbe effected by means of a threaded spindle 72 and a hand wheel 36 as shown in Fig. 1. The details pertaining tothis displacement, however, are not shown on thedrawing. The carriage 35 supports two sprocketwheels 37 and 38, and the main frame 2 of the machine is furtherfitted with some guiding rollers 39, 40, 41 and 42. As shown on the drawing the driving chain 43 ofthe conveyor belt passes over a sprocket wheel 44 Fig. 1, disposed on the shaft 11, thence beneath the guiding roller 39 and over the sprocket wheels 37 and 42, which serve to drive the conveyor belt itself.

From the sprocket wheel 42 the driving chain 43, passes over the guiding rolls 41, 38 and 40 and up to the driving wheel 44. By displacement of the carriage 35 to the right orto the left the position of the moulds of the mould belt 3 below the pouring orifices of the pouringfunnel 1, may bevaried within reasonable limits. The arrangement of the valve 7 itself forms no part of the present invention, but it may be mentioned here that the said valve alternately effects communication between the pouring cylinders 6, and the feeder hopper I1, and the pouring orifices.

In the modified construction shown in .5 where the numerals of reference correspond to those used inEig. ,1 the crosshead 28 co.-

operates witha" swinging arm 26 as in V 4) attached'to'a shaft 45 Fig. 5, whichlast supports another swingingv arm 25 cooperating with a driving rod 24, the upper end of which is connected to an adjustable block 23, in the slotted arm 21." Arm; 21 is journaled abouta shaft 20 and is rigidly connected to an angular lever 19, the bent'end 18 of which cooperatesw'ith a disc65,fitted with notches 63 and 64. This disc 65 is fixed on a shaft 8, which is'maintained ata uniform rate of rotation by means of sui'table'power transmitting members, for instance "a gear-wheel transmission 9, 10, 66 and 70. 3

'By the here described arrangement the plungers 27 can be given a'reciprocating mo tion, the lengthof stroke of which can be var ied by varying the position of the sliding block 23 in the slot 22, of the slotted arm 21.

The plungers'27 will make one double reciproeating stroke, Whenever one ofthe'notches 63 or 64 passes the end 18 oft-he bent lever 19. In the case shown inFi'g. 5 the plungers will consequently, make two double strokes for each revolution of the disc 65, as there are two notches on said disc corresponding to the provision of two transverse rows of moulds, on each mould platem'ounted in the endless mould-carrying belt. Tf'large castings are to be made, so that there can only be one transverse row of mouldson each mould plate, the

disc 65 can be replaced by a notched disc having only one notch therein, and similarly when pouring has to be eflected on to mould plates with three or more transverse rows of moulds in each plate, then the disc 65 can be replaced by other'discs each fitted with a corresponding larger number of notches.

By means of a spring or the like, not shown on the drawing the end 18 of arm 19 is maintained in a pressing relation against the 65, so that when one of the notches 63 or 64 passes the end 18 of said arm, thesaid spring will maintain the arm pressed against the notched portion of saiddi'sc 65. I

Although heretofore in this specification the assumption has been that the'mould belt 3, was moving at uniform speed during the pouring operation, it may under certain cirble' to impart an intermittent'motion to'a i mould belt frequently more than 300 feet long, and an arrangement may therefore be made, whereby only the mould or transverse row of moulds into which the material is being poured, and the adjoining parts of the mould belt" are held stationary, while the remaining part ofthe'mould belt is kept moving at a uniform rate of'travel. I j

Also it may also be of importance, when very long articles are being cast, to be able to impart, during'the pouring operation itself, a more rapid motion to the particularmould or row of. moulds "into which the material is beng' poured, for the purpose of having the ma- 'terial better distributed over the entire mould.

Fig; 6 shows an arrangement for attaining this. last named result. The mould belt 3,

which is endless, is moved in the direction indicated by the arrows on the mould belt. Supposing the empty mould belt, i. e. the belt freedvfrom castings, to arrive from the left, then it will pass over a roller 48, and from there over a roller 49, and over a roller 36. In the construction shown on the 'above mentioned Fig. 6, the roller 48 is to be considered as the driving roller. After having passed the roller 36 the mould belt 3, passes along the top surface of an oscillating table 50, and after having passed below the bottom block 5 of the pouring hopper 1, and the oscillations have caused the poured niaterialto be uniformly distributed in the mould, the mould belt passes a roller 51. Thereafter the belt 3 passes around another roller 52, and is direct-.

ed into a cooling closet (not shown). The rollers 49 and 52 are supported by arms 53 and 54, pivoted on the pins 55 and 56, and the two arms 53 and 54 are interconnected by a rod 57. In rigid connection with the arm 54 an arm 58 is provided, which by means of an angularly disposed arm 59 isconnected to another lever 60. The latter is pivoted on the pin 56, and the extreme bent end 61 of said lever cooperates with a notched disc 67 on the shaft 68 supporting the guiding roller 48. The arm 59 is fitted with a slot 73, in which the arm 58 can slide, the position of the arm 58 in the slot being adjusted by means of an adjusting screw 69.

The device shown in Fig. 6 operates in the following manner:

When a mould plate, in the mould belt 3 comes opposite the bottom block 5 of the pouring funnel 1, and a pouring is effected there, the notched disc 67 moves the arm upward, owing to the action of a spring (not shown on the drawing) the end 61 of the arm 60 will slip into the notch in the disc 67. The levers 53 and 54 will as a result swing to the left as seen in Fig. 6 and cause the part of the mould belt situated above the rollers 49 and 52 to remain stationary. But as soon as the notched disc 67 has been revolvedso that the arm 61 is moved back to the right, to its opposite extreme position,

.then the rollers 52 and 49 will again be moved back to the right and the portion of the mould belt situated between the said rolls will proceed at an increased speed, until the next mould on the mould plate is directly below the bottom block 5, at which moment the arm 60 once more will engage the notch and the mould being poured will remain stationary.

When .it is desired to increase the rapidity of the motion of the mould during the pouring operation, the notched disc 67 is replaced by a cam disc (not shown), whereby the arm end 61, and with it the rollers 49 and 52 will be moved to the right as seen in Fig. 6 by said cam, and an accelerated motion will thus be imparted to the portion of the mould belt 3, locatedbetween the rolls 49 and 52.

ranged thereon,

. rate of speed,

' By the herein described machine it is practicable, as shown by the above explanation, to vary all pourings inside of very wide limits, and to adjust the machine practically instantaneously from one kind of pouring operation to another.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a casting machine, a frame, a stationary feeding hopper mounted thereon having a plurality of pouring cylinders armeans for periodically feeding poured material out of said cylinders,

and a moving conveyor having a plurality of moulds thereon adapted to receive poured material when placed 1n alignment with the respective pouring cylinders,

2. In a casting machine, a frame, a stationary feeding hopper mounted thereon having a plurality of pouring cylinders arranged thereon, means for periodically feeding'poured material out of said cylinders, and a conveyor having a pluralityL of moulds thereon, and means for moving t e conveyor at a uniform, an accelerating and a retarding for the purpose of aligning the moulds beneath the respective pouring cylinders.

3. In a castin machine, a frame, a stationary feeding opper thereon, a plurality of pouring cylinders arranged beneath the hopper, a valve for the respective cylinders, a plunger rod for each pouring cylinder, means for synchronously actuatlng the plunger rods and the cylinder valves, for the purpose of ejecting pourer materlal therefrom.

ing hopper and a transverse revoluble camshaft mounted thereon, a plurality of pouring cylinders arran ed beneath the hopper, a valve for each cylmder, a plunger rod for. each cylinder, a series of adjacent cams arranged in pairs on the cam shaft, each palr of cams having means for actuating a cylinder valve and a piston in a synchronous manner, and means for revolving the cam shaft.

5. In a casting machine, a frame, a feeding hopper and a revoluble cam shaft mounted on the rame, a plurality of pouring cylinders arranged beneath the hopper, a valve for each cylinder, a plunger rod for each cylinder, a series of adjacent cams arranged in pairs on the cam shaft, each pair of cams having means for actuating a cylinder valve and a piston in a synchronous manner, and means for revolving the cam shaft, a continuous belt conveyor having a plurality of moulds thereon, and means for moving said conveyor at a uniform, and varying rates of speed; for aligning the moulds beneath the respective pouring cylinder valves, and holding the'said moulds in timed relationjtherewith forlfthe pouring period of said valves.

4. In a casting machine, a frame, a feed- 6. In a casting machine, a frame, a feeding hopper, and a revoluble cam shaft mounted on the frame, a plurality of pouring cylinders arranged beneath the hopper, a valve for each cylinder, a plunger rod for each" cylinder, a series of adjacent cams arranged in pairs on'the cam shaft, each pair of cams having means for actuating a cylinder valve and a piston in a synchronous manner, and means for revolving the cam shaft, a continuous belt conveyor having a plurality of moulds thereon, and means for moving said. conveyorat a uniform, and varying rates of speed, comprising a continuous belt, a pair arms, intermediate their lengthjand adjust-' able means for controlling the range of ac tion of the pivoted lever with reference to the poured material from said cylinders, comprising, a transversely disposed cam shaft on the frame, a plurality of cams, arrangedin pairs on the cam shaft, continuously operated actuating means for revolving the cam shaft carried on.the frame, a pair of rollers each of which is adapted to be placed in engagement with the respective members of each pair of cams, a slotted lever having a bent arm carrying one of the cam engaging rollers, adjustable means connecting the slotted lever and the piston rod for actuating same, a valve operating rod pivotally connected to the cylinder valve, means connecting'the said rod with the valve actuating cam roller, and means for synchronously operating said cam rollers, to open-the cylinder 'valve, and operate the piston rod, said means also being adapted to' disengage the cam rollers from one set of cams and place them into engagement with other sets of cams located on the cam shaft for purpose of operating the pouring operation of the machine in a variable manner. v

In testimony whereof I aflix my. si ature.

JENS JQHANNES JE SEN.

vertically disposed arms for increasing, 4

stopping and increasin the speedof the belt conveyor, and means or operating the belt conveyor. p

7. In a casting machine, a frame, a stationary feeding hopper mounted thereon, -a' plurallty of pouring cylinders arranged be neath the hopper, means for periodically feeding poured material out of said cylin ders, a moving mould carryin conveyor comprising, a continuous moving 1t, and means for actuating same, a pair of bent and veritically disposed arms mounted in the base of the frame, each having a roller on its upper end in engagement with the conveyor belt, and pivoted to the frame at its lower end, a drive'roller shaft mounted in base of the frame, a driving roller on said shaft, a cam disc revolubly mounted on the driving roller shaft, a horizontally disposed connecting rod pivotally joined with the pair of bent and vertically disposed arms intermediate their length, a ivoted lever mounted in the frame,

v operative y connected with the pair of bent and vertically disposed arms, and. havin an extension thereon in operative engage ent with* the cam disc for accelerating, stopping,

and retarding the motion of the conveyor belt and permitting the moulds on same to be a timed with reference to the period of pouring from the pouring cylinders of the machine.

'8. In a casting machine, a frame, a feeding hopper on the framehaving a plurality of ouring c linders thereon, a valve in each cyhnder, a piston and piston rod in each cylihder, means for periodically discharging 

